Connections Across
Generations:The Avery Collection of American Indian Paintings

"Over forty years ago, the purchase of a single painting
grew into what is now The Avery Collection. A very gratifying and unexpected
side effect of collecting has been people-those interesting, knowledgeable,
charming, friendly, colorful, fun people!"

Marjorie Pierce Avery
December 1999

Flight of the Dragonflies
by David Dawangyumptewa

In 1960 Mrs. Avery, an Arizona native now living in Texas, purchased
a painting by Navajo artist Beatien Yazz. She became hooked. By 1999
her world-class collection of original works by American Indian artists
grew to over 500 paintings. That year she decided to share a significant
part of her collection with the people of Arizona and the public at
large. She also wanted to share stories about her collecting methods
of the last forty years and the relationships or connections she built
with the artists, whose strength of character and talents she greatly
admired.

The Collection

The paintings bracket the period 1935 to 1990, a time that brought
many changes to reservation and rural economies. Tourism dating from
the completion of a transcontinental railway system, was enhanced by
interstate highways and improved infrastructure that brought customers
looking for art and craft produced by the "first American" to rural
and reservation communities. At the same time, expositions like the
Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial and Santa Fe Indian Market in New Mexico
and the American Indian Exposition in Anadarko, Oklahoma provided important
venues for artists and buyers to meet and make connections and friendships.
Museums, commercial galleries and international expositions were also
instrumental in bringing American Indian art into public view. These
and other venues provided a marketplace for collectors and patrons like
Mrs. Avery.

The Exhibition

The Arizona State Museum is pleased to be the new home to 355 paintings
from the Avery collection. An exhibition to showcase the paintings, honor the Avery
family gift, and honor the artists was open to the public from October 5, 2002 through May 23, 2003.

Melanie Yazzie, Assistant Professor, UA Department of Art and Hartman
H. Lomawaima, ASM Associate Director, were co-curators of the exhibition.
Together, they have many professional and personal connections to a number
of the artists. Before coming to the University of Arizona, Yazzie was an
instructor in printmaking at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa
Fe. During her tenure at the Institute, she taught the sons, daughters, and
even grandchildren of artists featured in the Avery collection. As a youth,
Lomawaima participated in expositions and markets along with artists whose
works form the Avery collection. According to the co-curators, "Working with
this collection has resembled a family reunion and we wish to extend this
circle of kinship to our audiences."